A sampler from the ‘Conway Four’

The four Wampus Cats have been transformed into Bears and they are still hungry. Wide receiver Brandon Cox, place-kicker Matt Cummins, defensive linemen Austin Norris and quarterback Breylin Smith are ready to protect the home turf with the University of Central Arkansas. All are slated to be regulars. “It’s good for Conway because it gives us a chance to show guys from here can play,” said Smith. The four will be featured and talk about each other in a feature story in our annual Football Preview that will be published in a week. As a sampler, here are their thoughts on some who influenced them during their days at Conway High. Norris: “Coach Clint Ashcraft is one of the best coaches and definitely the best motivators I’ve ever had. Just his passion for what he does. He puts all his pride and everything into his job. He really cares for his players.” Cummins: “I remember in ninth grade, I missed a field goal that could have won the game. Coach Ashraft came over and picked me up and told me, I was going to kick plenty for us. I can remember about every pregame speech he gave. You’d want to run your head through a wall, we were so high." “Also, coach offensive coordinator Brian Raney. He would tick you off so much, you just wanted to make him mad. You wanted to show him you weren’t like he thought you were. I remember in film sessions, I would sometimes get roasted and it made you want to do better. He knew how to push the right buttons.” Cox: “When I first got up there as a sophomore, my brother (Desmond) taught me everything to know about high school football. He taught me how to conduct myself on and off the field. “Coach Raney made me a student of the game. He made understand what watching film was all about. He helped me understand how to watch defenses move, how they operated. That translated to my junior year when I got the receiving record at Conway. He helped me dissect defenses and be a smart player.” Smith: "Hands down, coach Ashcraft. The more you are around him, you know he cares. He wants to win football games but also teach you about life." "Coach Raney definitely talked a lot about football. taught me X’s and O’s. Me and him had lot of talks about football and about throwing the deep ball and helped me have a larger football IQ." "Coach (Scott) Schwartz (quarterback coach) was always checking up on me. If i didn’t look right or feel right, he would talk to me. We had a lot of talks, but probably more about horses than football (Smith is also a horseman and competes in rodeos). He’s very special to me.” More to come, including their hopes for the season.

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Conway High School Athletics

A SAMPLER FROM THE ‘CONWAY FOUR’

STAFF

Log Cabin Democrat | 8/21/2017

PHOTO CREDIT: Conway Athletics